


The Distance Between Us

by SkiaWolf



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 12:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9897881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkiaWolf/pseuds/SkiaWolf
Summary: Long-distance relationships, as beautiful as they can be, can be a huge struggle. And some days for Yuri, not having Otabek by his side when he yearned for them to be together in person affected him greatly.Though despite wishing that the distance between them was shorter, he always had Otabek to listen to his sadness and give him all of the support he needed.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So this is for day 4 of OtaYuri week! I've mostly been drawing for this week, but wrote this as an extra for today, and will also be posting a oneshot tomorrow. This is the only thing from days 1-6 that don't link in with the others, so it was nice going down a different route.
> 
> This is my first time writing for this fandom, so I hope it's enjoyable!

Long distance relationships can be both a beautiful blessing and a painful struggle. Sometimes, these relationships are both; some days, your hearts were connected no matter how far the distance. Other days, not being physically close to each other was torture, with no way at all to break the gap which was tearing you apart. No messages, calls or video chats could ease the loneliness and pain in your chest.

Today was one of these days for Yuri. Him and Otabek couldn't always talk as much as either would like, what with how much practice they had to fit into their schedules. Some nights, both were too worn out after exhausting days to do more than say goodnight, especially with a three hour time difference between them. It was slowly building up and up for Yuri, an overwhelming longing which was completely distracting.

“What's wrong with you today?” Victor asked him. “You don't usually make so many mistakes.”

“Nothing,” Yuri snapped, anger, as usual, getting the better of him.

“Someone's in a bad mood.”

Yuri scowled, turning away with a click of his tongue. “I'm going to the bathroom.”

Yuuri and Victor watched him leave, neither chasing after him. The nicer thought was that both assumed that Yuri currently wanted to be left alone to himself, but the more realistic one was that they didn't notice anything different.

His moods were all the same to everyone. He was easily angered, his temper often incredibly short. That's all there was to it in everyone's eyes. So when something was actually troubling him, he was very rarely questioned about it. It caused him to not open up about himself, instead just letting his troubles bottle up inside.

“Goddamnit,” he muttered to himself, kicking a trash can to his side before leaning against a wall, breathing out deeply.

Everyone just passed him by without a care in the world. Or at least, everyone but Otabek. He was the one person who always made sure that there wasn't something on Yuri's mind, whether it was a small inconvenience bothering him, or something more serious. Otabek knew that Yuri kept everything to himself and tried to stop that as much as possible. It's one of the things that kept Yuri going through his tough times.

He pulled out his phone, unsure of why he was even bothering. No new messages.

_'Unlike you, he's probably actually practising right now,'_ he thought to himself. It was just before 12 for Yuri, so obviously Otabek would still be practising through the afternoon. God, he made himself cringe when he pined like this. It made him feel pathetic, increasing the anger he felt towards himself.

He knew he couldn't practice like this. He could potentially injure himself from how distracted his mind was, having almost done so already. And so, he pulled his phone back out of his pocket, typing out a message to Victor.

_'I'm not feeling that great, so I'm heading home. Don't make out with Katsudon too much.'_

He started walking home before he received a reply. His walking briefly slowed outside of a café, considering grabbing food, but his pace quickened again, deciding he had no appetite for that.

Love truly was a sickness at times.

Once entering his home, Yuri was quick to walk up his bedroom, shutting the door after him. His curtains still hadn't been opened during the rush that morning. He was glad about that. The darkness was more soothing as he laid down on his bed.

_'You'd think I was 15 again.'_ He was becoming more frustrated, not just at the situation at hand, but mostly at himself. When he pressed a hand to his face, he could feel tears. He needed to snap out of this; there were more important things he had to do.

It was just emotional agony. Never had he thought that he could miss someone this strongly. He turned over, looking at the side where Otabek always sleeps on when he was here. Memories of their nights together ran through Yuri's head, from the passionate to innocent cuddling, from talking about their days to Yuri snatching away the covers as he slept. It had only been a couple of months, but his heart still longed for any interaction, as though they hadn't seen each other in years.

Suddenly, the screen of the phone which he had been clutching in one hand lit up. He sighed, expecting a message from Victor, but his eyes widened when he saw it was a message on Skype from Otabek. Fumbling, he swiped the notification across.

_'Good afternoon, Yura. I finished practice early today because I was worried about you. I had a feeling something was off, though I could just be panicking. Are you okay?'_

Yuri's fingers hesitated over the keys, but once he started typing, the words flowed quickly and naturally.

_'Not really. It hurts so much not being with you, Beka. I can't handle this distance right now. I need you here with me. It's just getting a bit too much.'_

Anxiety built up in his chest when he realised that Otabek might end up worrying that Yuri was breaking up with him, but it started to ease when Otabek starting calling him. Yuri accepted it, managing to smile when he saw Otabek's face. Unlike Yuri lying sideways on his bed, Otabek was sat down, seemingly on a bench outside. Even just seeing his favourite leather jacket gave Yuri a small feeling of home.

“ _Have you been crying?”_ Otabek looked upset, even guilty. Why guilt, when it was beyond both of their control?

“Only a bit,” Yuri replied, bringing his knees to his chest, his spare hand resting on them. “I'm sorry about this.”

“ _Don't say sorry, it's fine for you to feel this way. I've been missing you too, more than you might think.”_

“I just wish we were closer. Even if that was just a couple of hours of driving… That seems like nothing compared to this.”

“ _I know Yura, I know.”_

“Don't think that I regret anything, because I don't. I really do love you. I just-”

“ _Yuri, I understand. I'll be back over there as soon as I can. I want to hold you in my arms again.”_

Yuri swallowed, his throat sore from his tears. “I want that, too.”

“ _It'll all be worth the wait because we're going to make more memories together, okay? We're going to be glad that we both pulled through this. And then in the future, we'll no longer have to cry over this. This is just an obstacle we have before we can spend all the time in the world together."_

“Okay,” Yuri nodded. “I'll wait for that.”

“ _That's my Yura. Considering we've both finished early today, why don't we stay on here for longer and spend a few hours together? We might not be next to each other physically, but that doesn't mean we can't be in each other's company.”_

“Please. I don't want to stop hearing your voice just yet.”

“ _Then I'll stay. I've got to start walking home again, but I'll stay right here.”_

“Thank you.”

“ _No need. Come on, wipe the rest of those tears. You're a solider; you can fight through this.”_

Yuri nodded, straightening himself out and relaxing the tension in his body as he wiped at his eyes. He then stretched before getting up, raising an eyebrow when Otabek starting chuckling.

“What? Why are you laughing?”

“ _Somehow, the solider still completely resembles a cute kitten. It's contradictory.”_

“You already know that I'm fine with you calling me either. Just… Not soldier kitten. I draw the line there.”

Otabek laughed, _“I'll bear that in mind.”_

“Maybe I should grab some food,” Yuri said, thinking aloud. “This crying has worn me out a lot. No wonder Katsudon eats a lot; he cries all the time.”

“ _That's mean.”_

“You know I like him, really. Just- Don't you _dare_ tell him I just said that.”

“ _Maybe I will.”_

“Do that and I'll burn your leather jackets.”

“ _Burn my leather jackets and I'll burn you.”_

“That's kinky. I like it.”

“ _Shut up. I'm in public, you know.”_

“Also kinky and liked by me.”

“ _For God's sake. Let's save the kink talk for when I'm_ alone, _okay?”_ Otabek said, letting out a laugh. His voice then grew more serious. _“Are you doing better now?”_

“I'm still upset about it, naturally,” Yuri answered. He was now getting up of his bed and began to walk through the hall. “But I'm feeling better about it now. You've helped out a lot.”

“ _I'm glad I was able to help you.”_

“You do that more than you think.” He blushed after saying that, clearing his throat. “Please tell me if I start sounding like Victor or Yuuri.”

“ _What if I don't want to?”_

Yuri sighed. “Fine, I guess I can't stop myself messing up and sounding sappy sometimes.”

“ _I wouldn't call that messing up. It's cute.”_

“I'll bear that in mind.”

“ _Good. What are you making?”_ Otabek asked when he saw that Yuri was now in the kitchen.

“Piroshki.”

“ _What a surprise.”_

Yuri laughed, settling his phone down onto the worktop. “Definitely.”

“ _It's nice to see you smiling again. Don't stop that, okay? You might prefer to look angry, but your smile is beautiful. I don't like seeing you cry instead.”_

“It's only because of you. Thank you.”

“ _You're welcome. I love you.”_

“I love you too, Beka.”

Long distant relationships might be painful and often a struggle, but it was moments like this which reminded Yuri of why exactly he pushes through that pain. Sometimes, the length of a distance only made love stronger. Anyone could fall in love, but having the strength to fight for it wasn't always possible. Yuri was determined to have that strength until they no longer had to fight, even if he had to be picked up off the ground at times.

It was worth it. He only needed to think of Otabek's name and hear his voice to be reminded of that.

 


End file.
